Just like that, Nina appeared like a celebrity on the red carpet, quickly drawing the attention to her, only to her. Lucas didnât have to check anyoneâs thoughts to know that she was extremely unwanted by everyone around, him includedâthat is, everyone except her gawking âEliteâ paparazzi. He wasnât even sure she herself wanted to be there, or if she was just drawn there by some internal âqueenlyâ obligation. No oneâs allowed to pick on them except me, she thought as she approached, and he was reminded of a child, petulantly refusing to share what she saw as her âtoysâ.
If he werenât so scared of her, heâd pity her.
She spoke, just specific enough for people to think she knew what had happened, just vague enough to hide that she really, really didnât. While her eyes seemed to hide secrets, her mind at this point held none at all. All it was doing was pulling together context clues and body language and wording, trying to piece together a guess as to what was going on. He wanted to laugh.
Lucasâ eyes darted around to each person. Aimee, Lane, Erin, Nina, Sterling, him, not to mention the dozens of people viewing them, and Daniel sure to come soonâ he realized with a sinking feeling that this was a scene, they were causing a scene, and he had enough of those for the summer, if not the rest of the year and his life.
âNina, this has nothing to fucking do with youâŠâ Lane muttered, and though she was right, though he agreed with her, he could almost see the wrath this would cause from the so-called princess. Either that or the horrible despondency, and he couldnât take that again either. Panic twinged in his chest.
He was still holding onto Aimeeâs sleeve. Hoping he remembered how her power worked and with only the slightest flicker of movement, he brushed his thumb against the bare skin of her arm, thinking quickly, She doesn't know anything. Donât play her game. Letâs go.